HONG KONG (Reuters) - G20 leaders headed to Washington on Friday for a summit aimed at seeking solutions to the world's biggest financial crisis in decades and will be reminded of the deepening economic gloom by a report expected to show the euro zone has slipped into recession.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As world leaders headed to Washington for a weekend summit on the global financial crisis, the United States made a pitch for modest reforms instead of the stiffer regulation that some European countries favor.

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - U.S. drones fired missiles into a Pakistani tribal region on Friday, killing 12 people, including five foreigners, in an area known as a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama will have a chance to appoint dozens of sympathetic judges to U.S. federal courts over the next four years, reversing the judiciary's shift to the right under President George W. Bush.

AP - Pakistani intelligence officials say a suspected U.S. missile strike has killed at least nine people in a village near the Afghan border.

AP - Consumers, the backbone of the economy, are taking a beating from the worst economic crisis in seven decades and there is little prospect of that letting up soon.

AP - The federal government began the new budget year with a record deficit of $237.2 billion, reflecting the billions of dollars the government has started to pay out to rescue the financial system.

AP - On a night when the theme of change and cultural fusion echoed in lyrics, performances and acceptance speeches, a Colombian rocker who's become a voice for social issues walked away as king of the Latin Grammys.

AP - The New York Jets stand alone atop the tight AFC East standings — barely.

Reuters - G20 leaders headed to Washington on Friday for a summit aimed at seeking solutions to the world's biggest financial crisis in decades and will be reminded of the deepening economic gloom by a report expected to show the euro zone has slipped into recession.

Reuters - As world leaders headed to Washington for a weekend summit on the global financial crisis, the United States made a pitch for modest reforms instead of the stiffer regulation that some European countries favor.

Reuters - U.S. drones fired missiles into a Pakistani tribal region on Friday, killing 12 people, including five foreigners, in an area known as a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama will have a chance to appoint dozens of sympathetic judges to U.S. federal courts over the next four years, reversing the judiciary's shift to the right under President George W. Bush.

AFP - A missile strike by a suspected US drone killed at least 10 Islamist militants in a Pakistani tribal region known as a hub of Al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels, security officials said Friday.

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - Suspected U.S. drones fired missiles into a Pakistani tribal region on Friday, killing 12 people, including five foreigners, in an area known as a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud.

AP - A suspected U.S. missile strike killed at least 12 people in a village near the Afghan border on Friday, including several suspected foreign militants, Pakistani officials said.

AP - All aboard, there may be another bailout train leaving the station on Capitol Hill. Talk of a $25 billion emergency loan package for the Big Three carmakers that could see a vote in a postelection session of Congress next week has a wave of business lobbyists clamoring for action — and a slice of the pie.

AP - An official in Santa Barbara County, Calif., says a brush fire has destroyed about 70 homes in the upscale community of Montecito.

AP - Federal authorities have compromised the rights and safety of some unaccompanied illegal immigrant children they have detained, and inadequate government guidelines are partly to blame, according to a Texas-based research group.

Reuters - Suspected U.S. drones fired missiles into a Pakistani tribal region on Friday, killing 12 people, including five foreigners, in an area known as a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud.

AFP - A suspected US missile strike killed at least 10 Islamist militants in a Pakistani tribal region known as a hub of Al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels, security officials said Friday.

AFP - Osama bin Laden, deeply isolated and likely near the rugged Afghanistan-Pakistan border, has been forced to devote much of his energy to his own security while his Al-Qaeda terror network remains resilient, CIA Director Michael Hayden said Thursday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Recession has struck much of Europe, data showed on Friday, confirming a widespread economic downturn that world leaders hope to tackle at a weekend summit in Washington.

LONDON (Reuters) - Three big European credit insurers have removed cover from suppliers of troubled U.S. carmakers General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - Suspected U.S. drones fired missiles into a Pakistani tribal region on Friday, killing 12 people, including five foreigners, in an area known as a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud.

GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas Islamists fired their longest-range rockets at a southern Israeli city Friday after an Israeli air force attack on their Gaza stronghold, in the 11th day of skirmishes threatening a five-month-old truce.

PYONGYANG (Reuters) - North Korea accused Seoul on Friday of intentionally dragging ties on the unstable peninsula to a new low, with a former South Korean leader saying relations may now stand on the brink of reconciliation or catastrophe.

AP - An explosive wildfire destroyed about 70 homes in the ritzy community of Montecito, injured four people and forced thousands to flee wind-whipped flames in the longtime hideaway for celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Rob Lowe.

AP - Earth seems to have its first fuzzy photos of alien planets outside our solar system, images captured by two teams of astronomers. The pictures show four likely planets that appear as specks of white, nearly indecipherable except to the most eagle-eyed experts. All are trillions of miles away — three of them orbiting the same star, and the fourth circling a different star.

AP - On a night when the theme of change and cultural fusion echoed in lyrics, performances and acceptance speeches, a Colombian rocker who's become a voice for social issues walked away as king of the Latin Grammys.

Reuters - Recession has hit much of Europe, data showed on Friday, confirming a widespread economic downturn that world leaders hope to tackle at a weekend summit in Washington.

Reuters - Three big European credit insurers have removed cover from suppliers of troubled U.S. carmakers General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

Reuters - Suspected U.S. drones fired missiles into a Pakistani tribal region on Friday, killing 12 people, including five foreigners, in an area known as a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud.

Reuters - Hamas Islamists fired their longest-range rockets at a southern Israeli city Friday after an Israeli air force attack on their Gaza stronghold, in the 11th day of skirmishes threatening a five-month-old truce.

Reuters - North Korea accused Seoul on Friday of intentionally dragging ties on the unstable peninsula to a new low, with a former South Korean leader saying relations may now stand on the brink of reconciliation or catastrophe.

AFP - World leaders are heading to Washington on Friday to craft a joint strategy to tackle the worst financial crisis in decades and thwart a deep global recession.

AFP - The economy of the 15 nations sharing the euro has slumped into recession for the first time ever, EU data released Friday revealed, with GDP falling 0.2 percent in the second and third quarters.

LONDON (Reuters) - World leaders headed to Washington on Friday to try to find ways to tackle a global economic crisis that has plunged much of Europe into its first recession since the euro currency was formed.

(Reuters) - A Chapter 11 restructuring bid by one of the three top U.S. automakers is unlikely to succeed due to the damaged economy and frozen credit markets, and may even result in the company folding, billionaire investor Wilbur Ross told Bloomberg in an interview.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A huge wildfire fanned by strong winds destroyed at least 70 multimillion-dollar homes in the celebrity enclave of Montecito, northwest of Los Angeles, officials said.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States wants to increase the number of countries enjoying visa-free entry after opening the door to citizens from six new European Union countries and South Korea, U.S. officials said Friday.

NICE, France (Reuters) - European and Russian leaders sought common ground on Friday on tackling the global financial crisis despite divisions over Georgia and European concerns about security and energy supplies from Russia.

AP - A Japanese journalist was shot Friday in the frontier city of Peshawar — the third attack on a foreigner there in three days, and missiles apparently fired by U.S. unmanned aircraft near the Afghan border killed at least 12 people, including several foreign militants, Pakistani officials said.

AP - Firefighters were racing early Friday to push back a wind-whipped wildfire that destroyed about 80 homes and a college dormitory, injured four people and forced thousands to flee the longtime celebrity hideaway of Montecito.

Reuters - World leaders headed to Washington on Friday to try to find ways to tackle a global economic crisis that has plunged much of Europe into its first recession since the euro currency was formed.

Reuters - A Chapter 11 restructuring bid by one of the three top U.S. automakers is unlikely to succeed due to the damaged economy and frozen credit markets, and may even result in the company folding, billionaire investor Wilbur Ross told Bloomberg in an interview.

Reuters - Militants shot and wounded two foreign journalists on the outskirts of Peshawar on Friday, and U.S. missiles killed 12 people in a strike on a Pakistani Taliban commander's stronghold in tribal lands bordering Afghanistan.

Reuters - A huge wildfire fanned by strong winds destroyed at least 70 multimillion-dollar homes in the celebrity enclave of Montecito, northwest of Los Angeles, officials said.

Reuters - The United States wants to increase the number of countries enjoying visa-free entry after opening the door to citizens from six new European Union countries and South Korea, U.S. officials said Friday.

AFP - Deepening recession and divisions over how to tackle the global financial turmoil increased pressure on world leaders Friday ahead of a summit of more than 20 of the richest nations and emerging countries.

AFP - The economy of the 15 nations sharing the euro has slumped into recession for the first time ever, EU data released Friday revealed, with GDP falling 0.2 percent in the second and third quarters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales at retailers suffered a record decline in October, government data on Friday showed, as shoppers reined in spending with home prices falling, although plunging gasoline prices also reduced outlays by consumers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday central bankers around the world were ready to do more to ease severe credit market strains and support faltering economic growth.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama will meet with his former rival, Republican Sen. John McCain, on Monday to talk about ways they can work together, an Obama spokeswoman said on Friday.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Militants shot and wounded two foreign journalists on the outskirts of Peshawar on Friday, and U.S. missiles killed 12 people in a strike on a Pakistani Taliban commander's stronghold in tribal lands bordering Afghanistan.

AP - Consumers, taking a beating from the worst financial crisis in seven decades, cut back sharply on their spending in October, pushing retail sales down by a record amount.

AP - Stocks are falling as Wall Street gives back some of its gains from Thursday's huge rally and investors refocus on their fears about the economy.

AP - Firefighters were racing early Friday to push back a wind-whipped wildfire that destroyed at least 100 homes and a college dormitory, injured four people and forced thousands to flee the longtime celebrity hideaway of Montecito.

AP - Thousands of hungry and homeless lined up for food Friday deep in rebel-held territory in eastern Congo as the U.N. began its first large-scale delivery in the area since fighting broke out in late October.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama plans to meet with vanquished Republican rival John McCain on Monday in Chicago, his transition office announced Friday.

Reuters - Sales at retailers suffered a record decline in October, government data on Friday showed, as shoppers reined in spending with home prices falling, although plunging gasoline prices also reduced outlays by consumers.

Reuters - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday central bankers around the world were ready to do more to ease severe credit market strains and support faltering economic growth.

Reuters - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama will meet with his former rival, Republican Sen. John McCain, on Monday to talk about ways they can work together, an Obama spokeswoman said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales at U.S. retailers suffered a record decline in October as fears of recession sapped spending, but part of the drop was due to slumping gasoline prices, which helped buoy consumer confidence this month.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The federal agency that insures most U.S. bank deposits unveiled a plan to prevent about 1.5 million home mortgage foreclosures by promising to share any losses with mortgage companies that agree to refinance certain home loans.

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Europe officially fell into recession on Friday and the U.S. economy suffered further blows as world leaders headed to Washington to address the worst financial crisis in 80 years.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush intends to nominate Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Barofsky to be the special inspector general for the Troubled Assets Relief Program at the Treasury Department, the White House said on Friday.

AP - Firefighters and a squadron of aircraft launched a desperate daylight attack Friday to push back a wind-whipped wildfire that destroyed at least 100 homes and forced thousands to evacuate.

AP - A missile strike apparently by a U.S. drone hit a house in Pakistan's tribal region close to the Afghan border Friday, killing at least 12 people including several foreign militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

AP - Wall Street retreated Friday from the previous session's big gains as investors digested more downbeat economic news and took little comfort from hints from that another interest rate cut might be possible. The Dow Jones industrials fell nearly 250 points.

AP - A 5-year-old boy has been dropped off at an Omaha, Neb., hospital only a day before the state Legislature begins a meeting to change the state's safe-haven law.

Reuters - Sales at U.S. retailers suffered a record decline in October as fears of recession sapped spending, but part of the drop was due to slumping gasoline prices, which helped buoy consumer confidence this month.

Reuters - The federal agency that insures most U.S. bank deposits unveiled a plan to prevent about 1.5 million home mortgage foreclosures by promising to share any losses with mortgage companies that agree to refinance certain home loans.

Reuters - Europe officially fell into recession on Friday and the U.S. economy suffered further blows as world leaders headed to Washington to address the worst financial crisis in 80 years.

Reuters - President George W. Bush intends to nominate Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Barofsky to be the special inspector general for the Troubled Assets Relief Program at the Treasury Department, the White House said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate plans to take up a $25 billion bill on Monday to bail out distressed domestic auto companies, but it is unclear if proponents can muster the necessary support.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Violence in Iraq has decreased sharply but al Qaeda, Iranian-backed fighters and other militants remain a serious threat, as this week's bomb attacks showed, Washington's U.N. envoy said on Friday.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Global central banks are ready to take further steps to ease market tensions and bolster faltering economic growth, top policymakers said on Friday, as world leaders gathered for talks on the economic crisis.

MONTECITO, California (Reuters) - A wind-driven brush fire in Southern California has gutted scores of luxury homes and injured 13 people in the seaside celebrity enclave of Montecito, officials said on Friday.

AP - The United States and global financial officials took steps Friday aimed at preventing a repeat of the financial meltdown that has imperiled the global economy.

AP - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proclaimed a state of emergency in Santa Barbara County, where a wildfire has destroyed more than 100 homes.

AP - French President Nicolas Sarkozy undercut the American rationale for a U.S. missile shield in Eastern Europe on Friday by saying that the system would do nothing to improve European security.

AP - A bill to rescue the troubled auto industry with $25 billion in emergency loans inched forward Friday when Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate will begin debate Monday and hold a test vote two days later. Supporters scrambled for votes to break an expected filibuster.

AP - Call it breaking the brass ceiling. Ann E. Dunwoody, after 33 years in the Army, ascended Friday to a peak never before reached by a woman in the U.S. military: four-star general.

AP - It's a true season of change: The Salvation Army is experimenting with a plastic alternative for folks who don't have cash to throw in a holiday red kettle.

Reuters - The Senate plans to take up a $25 billion bill on Monday to bail out distressed domestic auto companies, but it is unclear if proponents can muster the necessary support.

Reuters - Violence in Iraq has decreased sharply but al Qaeda, Iranian-backed fighters and other militants remain a serious threat, as this week's bomb attacks showed, Washington's U.N. envoy said on Friday.

Reuters - Global central banks are ready to take further steps to ease market tensions and bolster faltering economic growth, top policymakers said on Friday, as world leaders gathered for talks on the economic crisis.

AFP - Leaders from the world's biggest economic powers gathered in Washington on Friday for a crisis summit to recast the global financial order as recession spreads to a growing number of countries.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. banking regulator unveiled a plan on Friday to prevent about 1.5 million foreclosures, breaking ranks with the Bush administration by demanding bailout funds be diverted from banks to consumers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate plans to take up a $25 billion bailout bill for distressed domestic automakers on Monday, but it remains unclear if proponents can muster the support necessary to pass the legislation.

AP - Wall Street fluctuated in a choppy session Friday as investors absorbed another wave of downbeat economic news and took little solace from hints that an additional interest rate cut might be possible.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama will meet Monday with John McCain in talks that Obama's transition office said would focus on ways they can cooperate on an array of troublesome issues facing the country. The meeting will be the first since Obama, the Democratic Illinois senator, beat McCain, the Arizona Republican senator, by an Electoral College landslide in the Nov. 4 election.

AP - Firefighters struggled to get control of a raging wildfire Friday that destroyed more than 100 homes and injured 13 people in this Mediterranean-style coastal town that has been home to celebrities from Charlie Chaplin to Oprah Winfrey.

AP - Vietnam-era radical Bill Ayers said Friday he doesn't know President-elect Barack Obama any better than 'thousands of other Chicagoans' and the two never talked about Ayers' anti-war activities. In a television interview on ABC's 'Good Morning America,' the college professor disputed the contention that in the new afterword of a paperback edition of his 2001 memoir 'Fugitive Days' he describes he and Obama as 'family friends.'

AP - Nebraska officials geared up Friday for a special legislative session designed to deal with a unique 'safe haven' law whose unintendend consequences have allowed parents to abandon nearly three dozen children as old as 17.

AP - Federal prosecutors have drafted an indictment against six Blackwater Worldwide security guards in last year's deadly Baghdad shootings of 17 Iraqi civilians, The Associated Press has learned. The draft is being reviewed by senior Justice Department officials but no charging decisions have been made. A decision is not expected until at least later this month, people close to the case said.

AP - Roger Federer was tired, his back was aching and he trailed 3-0 in the deciding set. Still, he wasn't about to end his pursuit of a fifth Masters Cup title.

Reuters - A top U.S. banking regulator unveiled a plan on Friday to prevent about 1.5 million foreclosures, breaking ranks with the Bush administration by demanding bailout funds be diverted from banks to consumers.

Reuters - The U.S. Senate plans to take up a $25 billion bailout bill for distressed domestic automakers on Monday, but it remains unclear if proponents can muster the support necessary to pass the legislation.

AFP - Iraq is likely to approve a military pact with a timetable for the withdrawal of all US troops by 2011 and British troops will leave by the end of next year, Iraq's national security adviser said Friday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Friday after a record drop in retail sales last month heightened fears that American consumers' reluctance to spend will push the economy into an even deeper downturn than currently expected.

AP - The White House on Friday threw its support behind a plan to speed release of $25 billion in existing loans to the Big Three automakers but rejected a Democratic proposal to use money from a financial bailout to help the troubled industry.

AP - Federal auditors have concluded the Rev. Al Sharpton's 2004 campaign owes the government nearly $500,000 for illegal donations and other financial improprieties.

AP - Space shuttle Endeavour stood poised with its crew at the launch pad Friday for an evening flight to the international space station and a home remodeling project by astronauts doubling as kitchen and bathroom installers.

AP - Barry Melrose's return to the NHL as coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning lasted 16 games. Now the job belongs to assistant Rick Tocchet.

Reuters - U.S. stocks fell on Friday after a record drop in retail sales last month heightened fears that American consumers' reluctance to spend will push the economy into an even deeper downturn than currently expected.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate plans to take up a proposal to bailout distressed automakers, while the White House on Friday warned of partisan gridlock and recommended another route to get billions to Detroit fast.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton left the door open to becoming secretary of state on Friday, a day after a meeting with President-elect Barack Obama at which a Democratic official said they discussed the job.

WASHINGTON, Nov 14 Reuters - The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday to rule on a new challenge to the federal campaign finance law by a conservative group that wants to broadcast and promote a movie critical of Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama is considering primary election rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Richardson to be his secretary of state, according to Democratic officials who revealed his secret meetings with both as he weighed the decision on folding former foes into his new administration.

AP - Threats against a new president historically spike right after an election, but from Maine to Idaho law enforcement officials are seeing more against Barack Obama than ever before.

AP - The worst monthly drop on record for retail sales set off new alarm bells about the economy Friday, stepping up pressure on policymakers to figure out how to combat what increasingly looks to be a severe recession. Confronting opposition by the Bush administration, Democrats in Congress said they would try next week to pass $25 billion in emergency loans for the auto industry, so wobbly that one or more of Detroit's Big Three could go under.

AP - Nebraska lawmakers got to work Friday in a rare special legislative session designed to repair a unique 'safe haven' law that has unintentionally allowed parents to abandon nearly three dozen children as old as 17.

AP - Firefighters struggled Friday against an out-of-control wildfire that destroyed at least 100 homes in a wealthy, celebrity-studded enclave, flaring up so fast that it caught some terrified residents behind the automatic gates of their mansions.

AP - Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman's chances of holding onto his committee chairmanship suffered a blow Friday when two key New England Democratic senators came out against him.

AP - Free-agent season opened Friday with the New York Yankees planning to give CC Sabathia a record offer for a pitcher. The Yankees formulated a proposal to the big lefty that would exceed Johan Santana's $137.5 million, six-year contract with the New York Mets both in total and average, a baseball official familiar with the negotiations said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge details.

Reuters - The U.S. Senate plans to take up a proposal to bailout distressed automakers, while the White House on Friday warned of partisan gridlock and recommended another route to get billions to Detroit fast.

Reuters - U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton left the door open to becoming secretary of state on Friday, a day after a meeting with President-elect Barack Obama at which a Democratic official said they discussed the job.

AFP - Leaders from the world's biggest economic powers gathered in Washington on Friday for a crisis summit to reshape the global financial order as recession spreads to a growing number of countries.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The U.S. space shuttle Endeavour soared off its seaside launch pad on Friday on a mission to upgrade the International Space Station for an expanded six-person crew.

AP - Threats against a new president historically spike right after an election, but from Maine to Idaho law enforcement officials are seeing more against Barack Obama than ever before.

AP - World leaders launched extraordinary summit talks on the global economic crisis Friday, preparing to adopt a modest action plan that leans more on the U.S. approach of boosting oversight of shaky financial markets than the European desire to increase regulation.

AP - Firefighters were holding their own Friday against a wildfire that destroyed more than 100 homes in a wealthy, celebrity-studded enclave, but authorities warned that evening wind gusts could send the blaze on another destructive sprint.

AP - Space shuttle Endeavour and a crew of seven blasted into the night sky Friday, bound for the international space station and the most extreme home makeover project ever attempted by astronauts. The shuttle rose off its launch pad at 7:55 p.m. EST, right on time, in a brilliant flash of light visible for miles around.

AP - The Los Angeles city attorney has charged Don Cornelius, former host of 'Soul Train,' in connection with two domestic incidents involving his wife last month. Cornelius was charged with spousal battery, assault with a deadly weapon and dissuading a witness from making a police report, all misdemeanors, city attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan said Friday.

AP - Free-agent season opened Friday with the New York Yankees planning to give CC Sabathia a record offer for a pitcher. The Yankees formulated a proposal to the big lefty that would exceed Johan Santana's $137.5 million, six-year contract with the New York Mets both in total and average, a baseball official familiar with the negotiations said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge details.

Reuters - The U.S. space shuttle Endeavour soared off its seaside launch pad on Friday on a mission to upgrade the International Space Station for an expanded six-person crew.

AFP - Leaders from the world's biggest economic powers grappled with how to restore lasting stability to the shell-shocked international financial system as a crisis summit in Washington got underway.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A man laid off recently from his job in Silicon Valley shot and killed three people, believed to be former co-workers, at an office park on Friday, police in the ailing U.S. technology hub said.

HAVANA (Reuters) - Without naming U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro cast doubt on Friday on the possibility that a new president would bring much change in U.S. policy.

AP - World leaders prepared Friday to adopt an early warning system for financial calamities, a commitment to tougher accounting rules and other modest steps to try to prevent future crises like the one now threatening the livelihoods of billions of people around the globe.

AP - A fire official says 111 homes have been confirmed destroyed in a celebrity-studded enclave of Northern California, and the burned area has expanded to 1,800 acres.

AP - Talk about being lucky — a north Alabama man is alive after being run over by a train on Thursday afternoon. Huntsville Fire and Rescue officials said a train engineer spotted 61-year-old Arnold Romine lying across railroad ties. Witnesses said the conductor sounded the horn and tried to stop the train.

AP - Joe Girardi said this week he'd enjoy showing free agents around the new Yankee Stadium. CC Sabathia is one of the players the New York manager has in mind for a tour of the spacious clubhouse, players lounge, indoor batting cage and underground hot tub.

Reuters - A man laid off recently from his job in Silicon Valley shot and killed three people, believed to be former co-workers, at an office park on Friday, police in the ailing U.S. technology hub said.

AFP - Taiwanese prosecutors on Saturday questioned former president Chen Shui-bian's wife in a corruption probe, days after the ex-leader was detained in connection with the same case.